Rose's Saga
by ShinigamiMargaretRose
Summary: A story about a student in Iris Livier's Academy who comes back after a year of a tragic, traumatizing event that happened to her. She attempts to adjust to the school life there and soon meets new people that will eventually become her closest friends and allies.
1. Introduction

How long was it since I was back in school? Too long, it seemed.

"It's so wonderful to have you back here Margaret Rose, we understand your circumstances and we're glad that you have reconsidered and have decided to resume school," Dora, my homeroom teacher, said.

I nodded, letting her know that I was listening to her still as I turned my face away from her and looked at my surroundings. As I walked down the corridors of the Elias building, my homeroom teacher was still rambling to me. Looking around the building, the main room was beautiful, always brightly lit and magically installed to show a sunny, bright sky. White, fluffy clouds were passing by, making it a calm, soothing atmosphere. The stairs were brightly lit, with mountain scenes splashed across them, revealing a majestic, grand staircase leading to the upstairs. Students were walking, holding books in their hands while wearing their uniform, rushing to their next class or talking in hushed voices to their friends.

I absorbed everything with my clear blue eyes and had a heart-wrenching nostalgic feeling. I clenched my fist, closed my eyes, and breathed in and out slowly. _Calm down Rose, it's not going to be like that again, _I told myself as I sped up my pace to catch up to my rambling homeroom teacher.


	2. Chapter 1

Eventually, I was lead to the principal's office. The door was dark mahogany, with a custom 24 carat gold plate with the words written: Principal Tonio. As I opened the door, I realized the handle was also 24 carat gold but was designed as a Nue roaring. Dora fed the Nue handle a gold ely, and it opened inwards, revealing a grand room. In the left hand section of the room closest to the door there were 2 wolf leather couches lined facing each other with the same colored mahogany coffee table in the middle of the 2 couches. Towards the middle of the room, there was a black bear rug with a full grown white tiger laying down, purring and playing. It also stared at me, its gold eyes staring intently on me as if I was a piece of meat. I looked at it dismissively, and then towards the part of the room behind the tiger. There was a grand window with light shining down onto a huge mahogany work desk. On the desk, there was a 24 carat nameplate with Dr. Xavier Tonio etched onto it. There was a marble desk lamp on the desk, the light magically flowing down it. Papers were neatly sorted, with several burgundy colored files as well. When I finished my attention on the desk, I slowly lifted my eyes to shift my attention towards the man sitting behind the desk.

Dr. Tonio was a built man, wearing an Italian brand name suit and a burgundy tie. He had a well-shaven beard, but what I noticed was the amount of jewelry he wore. His fingers all had a gold ring with jewels embedded in them, and he had a gold watch. He was sitting down with a regal aura of a powerful man. He was gazing at me with his chocolate brown eyes and then he said with his deep, rumbling voice, "Hello you must be Margaret Rose. Please take a moment while I finish with my papers."

Dora said quietly, "Excuse me sir, but I must go back to my students."

She looked and nodded to Dr. Tonio, nodded to me, and then left the room. I stood there, standing as still as a statue until he finally introduced himself to me.

"Welcome to Iris Livier Academy. I am your principal Dr. Tonio. I take it that your homeroom teacher Dora introduced the whole place well?" he asked as he smiled at me.

"Yes sir, it was a very…detailed explanation of the whole place," I said, as I smiled professionally to him.

"Yes, Dora can have that effect on people," he laughed as he sat back in his chair.

It was quiet for a minute, and then he started talking to me.

"I understand that you took a year off of school," he paused, then started again," under normal circumstances we don't allow that but because you had promising grades before and still have good grades, we will allow this exception for you."

"Thank you sir, I appreciate the effort and consideration you have put into my admittance," I said as I looked at him.

"Well then, as you know, you will have to live within the dormitories. You will be staying at Elias Palace. As you also know, you must get the minimum 3 sets of spring/summer uniforms and 3 sets of fall/winter uniforms. That will be all, you are dismissed," he said and he looked at me then went back to his papers.

I bowed, and quietly went outside of the room; the door magically shut itself behind me. I left the Elias building, and walked out to the campus. I was back in this school again. I sighed, and made my way to the dormitory.


	3. Chapter 2

When I came up to the dormitory, I looked and saw that it was a bit…extravagant. The palace was adorned with traditionally styled red clay bricks and the whole architecture screamed ancient culture. I sighed and looked it up and down thinking, _really? Who the heck designs these buildings?_ I shook it off, and went towards the door when all of a sudden, there was a maid that came up to me.

"Excuuuussseeeeee meeeee!" She screamed although I was only 2 feet away from her.

"Erm, me?" I asked.

"Yes you silly! I was waiting for you this whole time!" She said excitedly and she took my bags out of my hands.

"Hey wha-? I can hold my own bags!" I said as I tried reaching for them, but she dodged my attempt in reaching for them.

"No ma'am I will hold your bag for you, for you are now part of this dormitory." She said politely, and walked on towards the door.

I sighed and giving up, just followed her inside, and there were 10 maids lined on each side of me, bowing and saying, "Welcome Madame Margaret Rose. We will be serving your every need if you have any."

I instantly made a defense stance, not expecting a welcoming party for me. When I realized the maids were just doing their customary jobs, I relaxed a little and followed the bag-snatching maid to my room.

"Just to let you know, my name is Nan, if you have any questions, just ask me!" she shouted as she bowed and quickly left me. _I am never going to get used to that screaming voice_, I thought to myself as I shook my head and looked at my door. The door didn't have a handle in it, rather a very skinny groove, but of course, this didn't baffle me. I took out my beloved weapon from my bag, my musical rod, and placed it within the groove. As soon as I placed it inside, the door made a clicking noise and opened inwards to lead me to my room.

As I took my rod out of the groove, I observed my room. It was a beautifully designed room, with an oak work desk that was placed against the right side of the wall. The window was facing towards the north side, and had a beautiful view of the sleepy town the school was located in. On the left side of my room, my bed was in the same oak wood finish and it was a huge bed, enough to fit 2 people. I looked at the size of the bed and thought, _this, is way too extravagant for me. _I sat down on the bed and flopped down, laying down with my back against the soft, cushiony sheets. I closed my eyes, and thought _this is really happening, _and I slowly dozed off into sleep.


	4. Chapter 3

I woke up when the sunlight gently hit my face, making my check feel warm. I groggily opened my eyes, looking at the alarm clock that was placed on my bed stand next to the bed. 5:30 A.M., it read as I woke up and went to the bathroom. I then made my way over to my drawer and pulled out a fall/winter uniform.

The uniform was white with purple trimming, and the short-sleeved shirt was a side button up with a collar. The collar was pure white and the skirt was a pleated purple skirt that was mid-thigh length. We also wore stocking or some girls preferred leggings as long as it was the required color of white or purple. The shoes we had to wear were school shoes and we also had to wear a beret to class.

This beret was also the symbol of our school for we had as many as 6 buttons on the outer rim of the hat. The first pin is in the shape of the last weapon we used before we get promoted from elementary school. We receive it when we pass elementary school to choose which career path we want. It starts with Explorer, Knight, Mage, Warrior and Engineer. Afterwards, we progress to middle school, where we enhance our skills and promote to the higher levels. Explorers graduate from Gunslinger or Treasure Hunter. Knights progress to Guardian or Templar. Mages are either Bard or Sorcerer, and Engineers change to Meisters. Warriors are promoted to Warlords or Bladers. When we graduate from middle school that is when we receive our second pin in the shape of our exam item that we needed in order to pass to high school. The third pin is received when you are promoted to high school, where the classes promote to a higher, more enhanced, stage of their career path. Gunslingers become Duelists, Treasure Hunters become Ruin Walkers, Guardians become Saints, Templars become Holy Orders, Bards become Minstrels, Sorcerers become Elemental Masters, and Meisters become Engistars. Bladers are promoted to Striders and Warlords are promoted to Dragoons. When we graduate from this, we would get our third pin, in the letters of IL, in order to represent Iris Livier, required in order to pass high school.

But, there was another section of high school as well. This section is called the SS section, or known as Sub Section. Only a few of the most skilled people ever reach this level and excel. The special thing about SS was that the students within this class could use their major's weapon, or another weapon. Saints are able to use 2 gloves known as Psychic Hands and are called Psykickers. Holy Orders promote to Terror Knights and use a huge glove known as a Gauntlet. For Ruin Walkers, they were able to use 2 small daggers, one of them being a Rouge Knife and another of their choice, and change to Rouge Master. For Duelists, they are able to use a blade which shoots out bullets, known as Gunblades. Striders can change to Sword Dancers, using two swords that magically floated in the air named Psionic Sword. Dragoons can change to Highlanders and they used a huge four pointed star called a Spiral Sword. Elemental Masters can change to Phantom Mages and use scythe-like weapons known as their Battle Staff. Minstrels can change to Maestros and use a Rod. As for Engistars, they change to Star Seekers that use a magically floating call called a Guardian Ball. Our fourth pin is in the shape of the weapon that we use.

I looked at my pins, having five of the six pins, I looked at them intently. My first pin was in the shape of a staff, blue and purple stripes running across the tiny pin. The second pin was a Harp that I earned from battling against a huge turtle boss that ran rampant inside a dungeon. My third pin was a guitar, black and blue with stars gleaming across the bottom part of the face of the guitar. As for my fourth pin, I it was a silver and blue musical rod to signify that I was part of the SS class. I looked at my fifth pin, in the shape of a Phoenix.

As for the fifth pin, it was when you achieved a title within the top 50 of the class, known as the SS Brigade. The SS Brigade was made up of the top students that constantly made top marks and were specially equipped with some extra "perks" such as later curfew hours, immediate entry of dungeons, and special privileges of allowing them access to anywhere within any of the buildings.

I thought about the sixth pin that was nonexistent on my beret, and shook it off, adjusting my hat on my head, and walked out of my room, towards my first day of class after a year.


	5. Chapter 4

As I headed over to the Elias Building, I heard a scream as a kid bumped into me and knocked himself onto the ground.

"Oof!" He grunted as he fell down, and all his papers dropped out of his hands.

He was a small boy with white spiked hair and mismatched red and blue eyes, and wore his hat in a lopsided way. His uniform of black and purple was a bit wrinkled and he had a look of youth. I looked at him amusingly and immediately squatted and started picking up all his papers.

"Thank you and sorry, I didn't mean to bump into-,"he stopped suddenly as he saw my pins and gave a look of surprise.

"Erm, is something wrong?," I asked, concerned he knocked himself in the head as he fell down.

"WOW! You're part of the SS Brigade!" he screamed in excitement as I jumped a little in surprise to the increase in volume.

"Yeah, it's not a big deal," I said as I smiled and handed him his papers.

"It is to me! I haven't even passed my middle school exam," he muttered in a frustrated voice.

Looking at him, I thought of me in the past, and sighed.

"If you need any help, just ask me," I said. I looked inside my backpack and pulled out a tan colored coiled stone and gave it to him.

"Wow, thanks! Uh-," he paused as he looked at me.

"Margaret Rose," I replied and walked away, heading towards my classroom.

I finally reached the Elias Building, and started walking towards the second floor East Wing of the SS classes. I checked my schedule to see which classes I had today:

Monday:

Coliseum History Studies 8:00 A.M.-10 A.M.

P.E. Class 10:15 A.M.-11:30 A.M.

Lunch 11:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M.

Study Hall 12:45-2:45 P.M.

Maestro Ultimate Classes 3:00 P.M.-4:00 P.M.

I looked at my schedule with despair as I saw Coliseum History Studies in the morning. I groaned and headed over to the room. As I sat inside the class, I took in my surroundings. It was a medium-sized classroom that could fit 40 people snugly. The windows were on the left side of the room, making the sunlight dance on the floor. The chairs were floating next to the desks, making a calm buzzing noise. There were a few students there already, and I sat down on the second-to-last in the row of window seats. I leaned my head against my hand as I rested it against the desk. I was looking outside the window admiring the view of the campus when I heard a rhythmic clicking noise and girls chattering. The door to the classroom opened and I turned around to see who it was.

There was a female Highlander standing at the door, her pink unevenly cut hair tied up in a half ponytail. She was standing nonchalantly with a prince-like atmosphere. Her almond-shaped eyes gleamed as she looked at me and started coming up to me. She had a bunch of girls giggling and following close behind her. As she reached my desk, she stared intently at me.

"Erm, can I help you?" I asked when I felt uncomfortable at her staring at me constantly.

"You look at me, yet you don't feel anything for me?" she asked, one of her eyebrows rose slightly.  
"Nope, I only feel uncomfortable at you looking at me like this…," I said, as I leaned back to get away as subtly as possible.

She looked at me in shock and the girls behind her gasped in horror as they stared at me. The girls rushed to catch the fainting Highlander and one of the girls turned to look at me.

"How could you say something like that to her?!" She asked me angrily.

"Yeah she's the most beautiful Kaila Mina! The best Highlander in the SS division!" Another girl piped up.

"Girls, it's ok, I must admit defeat this time," Kaila Mina silently said, and bowed down dramatically. She looked at me and grabbed a lock of my lavender wavy hair.

"Don't worry, you'll fall in love with me eventually," She said, kissed my hair, and winked. All the girls behind me sighed and clapped their hands together. One of them even fainted as another girl had to catch her. I sighed and looked back at the window. People in here were so weird.

"Girls go to your classes! The instructor said as he came in. He was wearing a Korean traditional outfit and was clean shaven. He went to the board and tapped on it to emphasize his tone.

"Geez Mr. Namgun don't be a bore," the girls said as they started to huddle behind Kaila Mina.

"Girls, go, you should head to your classes. We wouldn't want you beautiful butterflies to fail in your classes," Kaila Mina said as she looked at them with sincere care.

The girls giggled excitedly and started to head to their classes. But before they did so, they turned around and blew kisses to Kaila Mina. Girls these days were scary.

"Well, as you guys know, we have another student with us that transferred in yesterday," Mr. Namgun started off.

People started to look towards my direction. I shifted in my chair uncomfortably, not desiring to be the center of attention so suddenly.  
"Let's have her introduce herself," Mr. Namgun said as he looked at me, and nodded.

I stood up from my seat, and turned to face the class.

"Hello everyone, my name is Margaret Rose and I'm a maestro." I said in a calm and steady voice, and bowed after I finished talking. I sat down in my seat after talking.

"Let's get started with class," Mr. Namgun said excitedly and we started the lecture.


	6. Chapter 5

After 2 hours of excruciating Coliseum history, I headed my way to the backyard of the Elias campus. Here, we had to do P.E., known as Physical Education, for an hour and thirty minutes. There was an open field, and a section where there were equipments such as a Bogle Punching Bag, silver benches, etc. We wore our P.E. clothes, white shorts and a white or purple t-shirt with purple or white stitching of our last name on the back, and waited in the middle of the open field. Of course, we all had our weapons with us.

A handsome, young man was nonchalantly waiting on the field, reading a magazine while lying on the grass. He had a green military styled coat with a gold emblem on the left side. He was wearing a while button-up collar shirt. His hair fell stylishly to one side and covered his left side of his face. His red hat was his signature hat, and he never went anywhere without it. As he turned towards us to acknowledge that he saw us, his gray eye twinkled and he nimbly stood up quickly.

"Alright you guys, today we're going to run 10 laps while using our skills to dodge the incoming monsters!" he yelled enthusiastically.

"Not again Instructor Ignate! We've done that countless amounts of times before!" a student piped up as the other students groaned in agreement.

"Fine since I'm nice, I'll let you guys do PvP today!" he said and grinned slyly.

PvP, or another term for Player versus Player, is when you attack the other person until they admitted defeat or got hit ten times before the other player. The one rule was that you can never kill anyone during a PvP or else that would mean immediate expulsion and the Livier Police Team hounding on your doorstep every day.

"Everyone, grab a partner! We're going to start in 5 minutes!" Instructor Ignate said as he looked at his pocket watch.

As people formed pairs, I as the transfer student, didn't know anyone and stood awkwardly in the middle of the crowd, waiting for someone to not have a pair. As I looked left and right, I felt a tap on my shoulder as someone asked me, "Uhm, do you want to be my partner?"

I turned to see a meek-looking girl with long flowing white hair. Her eyes were a mismatch of silver and purple. She looked at me and stood a little hunched, showing her timid side. She looked upwards at me and she looked like a scared rabbit. I nodded and turned to face her with my rod at the ready.

"On your marks, get set…" Instructor Ignate said as he blew his whistle, signaling us to start.

She charged at me with her rod, using a wind move to give her acceleration. I stayed in my spot, staying as still as possible. When she attacked me with swift moves, I nimbly dodged them, predicting her moves. Sensing her frustration, she swiped at me with her free hand and she cut my face. As I swiped my hand against my cheek, I saw the blood and my mind went blank.

"STOP ROSE STOP!" I heard Instructor Ignate say as my mind came back into focus. I looked at my surroundings, and saw all the students look at me with shock. When I looked down, I saw that I put my rod at my partner's throat, and I pinned her down. She looked at me with terror, and I immediately jumped up, and stood up.

"I-I'm sorry I said as the bell rang. I turned and ran to the changing rooms, to escape the blank fight I just had.

As I was changing, I realized my hands were trembling. In fact, I was shivering. I sat down on the floor, and curled up in a ball to calm my nerves. I placed my head between my knees and breathed in and out slowly.

_Welcome to the beginning of hell, _I thought to myself.


	7. Chapter 6

I headed towards the dining hall, where it was packed with students. It was a buffet-styled dining hall where there were different genres of food ranging from handmade dumplings from Tiger Village to the grilled burgers from the Cookie Garden. The aromas of the food started permeating the air and would drive a hungry person insane. The dining hall itself was a small 2 story building that was located on the east side of the campus. The dining hall was always decorated in the season or holiday it was in. Since it was fall, there were beautiful autumn leaves and pumpkins adorning the table as a centerpiece with little leaves sprinkled around the table. Cinnamon and spices were tickling my sense of smell as I walked over to get some dumplings.

"Master Rose! Is that you?!" I heard as I looked up from grabbing food.

A plump middle aged lady was smiling at me, her face flushed from the heat of the food. She was wearing a royal blue traditional Tiger Village shirt that had navy blue trimming on it. Her tan- colored apron covered her lower half and she had a chopstick sticking out of her hair.

"Hey Rantien! How have you been?," I asked and she hit me on the arm.

"Ow-hey what was that for?," I said as I started rubbing my arm.

"No letters, no Iris messaging, and here you are, just casually asking me how I've been! Master Rose, you are terrible!," she said as she waved a ladle scolding at my face.

"Hehe I've been busy Rantien, honestly," I laughed as I pushed the ladle slowly as to avoid getting hit with that as well.

"Well, this time you better stay so I can make you your favorite Hot Chocolate a la Crème!," she smiled and I smiled back.

After my conversation with Rantien, I sat down with my tray of food at one of the tables when I heard a person ask, "Is anyone sitting here?"

I looked up to see a girl that held a tray in each hand, each piling with food. She had long wavy blonde hair with short front fringe that allowed seeing her eyebrows and her wide eyes. Her wide mismatched eyes of blue and red looked at me with a joyous face. I nodded towards her as I had food inside my mouth, and she sat down.

"Hehe don't you love food? What's your favorite food?" the girl asked as she was eagerly eating, a spoon filled with Tiger Jelly.

"Mine is Glass Noodles," I said casually as I was sipping my soup.

"Glass noodles from the El Anoir Village? They're super good!" she said and when I looked at her, we had a spark of immediate friendship and talked about the different food we tried or wished to try.

"Wow, it's been a while since I knew someone that was so knowledgeable about food," she sat back as she finished eating.

"Same here," I said as a sighed a sigh of content from the delicious food I ate.

"Ah silly me! I didn't even ask for your name! My name is Koyu Blink," she smiled as she stretched her hand out.

"My name is Margaret Rose," I smiled and received her handshake.

"Koyu! Let's go," a guy said behind me. I looked up to see who it was.

A guy with white spiky hair in the back was standing casually. He was wearing headphones around his neck while his pink colored eyes gazed gently on Koyu.

"Snow you're here! Well, it was nice talking to you food buddy!" She said as she stood up and took her empty trays away. She smiled at me and then walked with Snow as he put his arm around her shoulder.

I smiled to myself at the thought of having a food buddy and walked towards Study Hall.


	8. Chapter 7

As I headed into the Study Hall, there were students already sitting with their friends. I just sat at a table meant for 4 people and was quietly reading my books and doing my homework in advance so I didn't have to worry about it later. As I looked at the homework, everything seemed fairly easy which made me feel more relaxed. Although it was towards the end of the 1st term, I was feeling quite confident that I could do well in my classes. I was intently doing my homework when I heard a "clunk" and someone sat down across from me. I brushed off my curiosity and started to finish my homework when I started to think about all the things that happened to me. I thought of the people that I met so far my class, lunch, and the blank fight I had with that girl. Guilt started to pour over me as I thought what I could have done to that girl.

I stopped doing my homework, knowing that I couldn't concentrate after thinking about the fight, so I put my pencil down, leaned back in my chair, and closed my eyes.

"Margaret~ Come here!" a girl was calling me over across a wide river. She had long flowing, stark white hair and her warm purple eyes were twinkling. She was waving her hand to beckon me forth. I smiled, waved and started to cross the river, but all of a sudden, the river, as if it had a mind of its own, grabbed me and pulled me under. I tried clawing and scratching, unable to breathe and my mind blacked out.

I woke up in cold sweat, wondering what that dream meant. I kept thinking about it, trying to decipher the meaning until I looked at my watch, cursed, and started heading towards class.


	9. Chapter 8

When I came inside the classroom, I saw a student sitting down. His white wind-swept hair was glistening while reading his textbook. I looked over to him in curiosity, and then sat down at a desk. We both sat in silence until I looked over to him, and I asked a question.

"Erm, do we have a test today?" I asked him.

He turned his attention towards me, and I saw that he had an eye patch that covered his left eye. His right eye was a shade of violet that had flecks of pink in it.

"No we don't, I just happen to like reading," he answered, turning his face towards his textbook again.

"Thanks," I said, relieved that we didn't have to take a test.

I sat down awkwardly, fiddling with my thumbs for a couple of minutes until I took out my notebook and started to draw, creating random designs and algorithms of machines and vehicles. I leaned my head against my hand, and looked towards the window, seeing the people pass by within the campus, either rushing to the library or heading to class.

Finally, the teacher came, her little red pigtails bouncing up and down at the rhythm of her pace. She was wearing a frilly button-up shirt with a skinny little red bow tie. She was wearing a blue dress with buckles as straps and a yellow frilly apron on top. On top of her head, she made a halo with a metal wire holding it up. She also wore little wings that were mechanically moving up and down. She looked at us and she had a baby face, her ruby-red eyes gleaming with joy as she smiled at us. She hugged a doll that had button eyes, a little mouth, and little cheeks that were blushing.

"Today guys, we will have our long awaited quiz!" she said as the other people started clearing their desk. I looked in shock as she started handing the quizzes. _That guy lied to me! _I thought as I was starting the quiz.

Finally when the quiz was over, I turned in the paper and I sighed. _At least I answered to the best of my abilities, _I thought as I went towards my desk. People started to head out of class and I approached him with frustration in my voice.

"You lied to me, you said there wasn't anything!" I said to him as he turned his attention towards me, looking at me with amusement.

"You asked if we had a test, not if we had a quiz," he said as he started to pack his things into his bag.

"Y-you…you're so weird," I said to him as my remark. _Great Margaret, nice comeback, _I thought to myself as I mentally facepalmed.

He looked at me and said, "You're crazy."

That did it. I got annoyed so I offered to open the door for him, and slammed it on him. He looked at me with surprise and I looked at him with feigned innocence.

"Oops, my hand slipped, I'm SO sorry," I said as I smiled at him. He looked at me as he rubbed his head and looked at me in confusion.

"Well weirdo, it seems I have to go," I said as I turned around before he could make a remark about me.

_I am so immature; _I thought to myself and laughed as I headed back to my dormitory.

As I headed towards my dormitory, all the maids bowed at me. I waved at them and entered my room. As I started to change into my casual clothes, multicolored, glowing sparkling stars started to rain on me. Then, a holographic message popped up in front of my eyes as it read: Ace Reborne requests teleportation. Do you accept?

There were 2 buttons that could have changed my paths completely. I could have chosen No, and ignore the request. But instead, I chose Yes which changed my fate completely. I clicked yes on the Iris message and closed my eyes as I waited to get teleported. When I felt my feet touch the floor, I opened my eyes and saw the little boy as he smiled at me.

"You came! Hey Rose!" he yelled excitedly, and I smiled back at him.

"So this is the girl you wanted to request to our guild?" I heard someone ask behind me.

_Hey wait a minute, I recognize that voice_, I thought as I turned around to see who it was.

There was Kaila Mina and others that I didn't recognize behind her. But I saw 2 familiar faces, the girl I almost killed and the guy I acted immaturely to.

"Ace," I said,"Where the hell am I?"

"Welcome," he smiled," To Ourtale."


	10. Chapter 9

"I only offered my help, NOT to be part of a Guild!" I said to Ace, gritting my teeth as to not show my total anger and frustration.

"I thought you were totally cool so I wanted to add you," he said excitedly, not detecting my anger.

"I refuse to join a guild," I said to him.

"Why? You haven't even met a third of us!" Ace said as he had an expression of confusion.

"I…just can't do it," I whispered quietly as I looked away.

There was silence, as an awkward tension started building in the room. Kaila stepped towards me and she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"If you don't feel ready to join, it's fine. We aren't going to force you to do something you don't want to do," she said as I looked up to her, and she smiled gently at me.

I started to relax, and I looked at her and smiled, "Thank you."

"…Now that you did that, I want you in my guild," Kaila said as she started to get an evil glint in her eyes. _Uh oh, _I thought.

"Kaila, stop," the guy I hit said. Kaila looked at him and pouted her face.

"But Wiiiiiifffeee she's so cute, I just want her part of my guild," she said as she was attempting to protest with him.

"You said so yourself, we shouldn't add anyone out of their own free will, if she wants to join, she'll come to us eventually, right Crazy?" he asked as he looked at my direction and smirked. This guy, I swear he ticked me off even if he did a good deed for me.

"Yeah you're right," Kaila sighed, "We'll be here in the Guild Room 248 if you ever do change your mind."

I nodded to them, and took out a teleportation device, but changed my mind and put it back in my pocket. It was probably better to walk off my thoughts. I walked outside the room, not turning back to look at them.

As I headed outside of the Guild Building, it was truly a grand site to see. The building was military style with Phoenix statues placed on the sides of the double doors. The double doors were also gold and glass, making it look likes a grand hotel. As I looked at it, I shuddered as I thought about the past and put my hands in my pockets, walking in the cold night towards my dormitory alone.


	11. Chapter 10

The alarm blared, and I slowly opened my eyes. Two weeks passed by since my refusal to join Ourtale and frankly, I tried not to be bothered by it. After a year of not attending school, I wanted to get good grades, graduate, and head towards college. _I don't need a guild, _I thought to myself as I buttoned up my uniform. I checked to see my reflection in the mirror, nodded, and put my hat on and headed out of my room towards class.

"Hey Rose!" Koyu called out to me as she saw me in the dining hall eating breakfast.

"Hey Koyu," I said as I saw her. As we ate in the dining hall, we started talking to each other and started getting closer, and I felt that she was a friend that was a good listener.

"You know Rose," Koyu said as she looked down and fiddled with her fork, "Why don't you want to join Ourtale? Do you not like us?" she asked with concern in her eyes as she looked at me.

I sighed and put my fork and knife down. I knew Koyu meant well for me but I didn't feel ready to tell her about my past just yet. I kept quiet and looked at the clock on the wall.

"Koyu," I said as I stared at the clock, "Isn't it time you had to go to your Dragoon Classes?"

"Ah! That's sneaky!" She pointed a finger at my direction and laughed. "But you're absolutely correct. I'll talk to you later food buddy," she said as she picked up her trays and walked out of the dining hall. I smiled, waved at her, and thought _thank Iris for the good timing_.

As I headed towards my class, I saw a girl surrounded by a group of boys. The boys looked like they wanted to beat her up so I started to head my way to help her when all of a sudden; the ground had ancient rune writing. _Oh crap_, I thought and ran to head towards shelter.

As soon as I hid behind a building, the ground shook as fire meteors fell down from the sky. The boys all ran and there was dust everywhere. When the dust finally cleared, the girl was standing in the middle of a fire ring and her whitish pink unevenly layered cut hair was flowing in the wind. She opened her eyes and smiled a devilish grin with her mismatched blue and red eyes. She was holding a scythe, known as her Battle Staff which was sleek black with a red handle inscribed with ancient rune writing. A chain came out of the end of the handle as she sheathed it and it transformed into a broomstick. She smiled, picked up her bag casually, and started to head towards my direction. When she saw me, she fumbled a bit and she looked surprised as if I had snuck up on her.

"Wha-what the?! Where you here the whole time?" She asked me as she started to put her hand on her broomstick.

"Oh whoa hey hey," I said as I put my hands to show I was unarmed, "I'm not here to try and fight you, nor will I tell anyone what happened here. I just thought you needed help."

"Pft, I don't need help," she said as she laughed, "I can handle those situations on my own just well thank you."

"Yeah…I saw that," I said as I turned towards the area of total destruction, rocks eroding and trees uprooted from their land.

"It's not THAT bad! I made sure that nobody would get hurt, this was just to warn those guys not to mess with the wrong girl," she said as she grinned.

"Uh-huh…," I said as we headed towards the Elias Building.

"Oh by the way, who ARE you?" she asked me interrogatively, glaring as if to detect if I was an ally or foe.

"I'm Margaret Rose from the SS," I said as I nodded in her direction.

"I'm Star Magi!" she said as she grinned.

As we continued talking, or rather, her talking and me nodding or adding a word to remark, until we heard the intercom.

"Star Magi, please go to Dr. Tonio's office. Star Magi, I repeat, head towards Dr. Tonio's office."

"Dangit! How do they find out all the time?" she said exasperatedly as she looked up and cursed the intercom.

_You DID just destroy a portion of their campus, _I thought as she was wondering.

"Well, that means I have to go now. Nice meeting you Rose!" she looked at me glumly as she was escorted by Dr. Tonio's white tiger.

I looked at her direction, turned away, and walked towards my classroom.


	12. Chapter 11

The next few weeks went by in a blur, and it was a peaceful month. But of course, it wasn't meant to last. Before I headed towards my class, someone intercepted me and stood in front. He was dressed in all black, and wore a fox mask to cover his face. I immediately threw a defense stance and put my rod at his throat as I pushed him into an unoccupied classroom.

"Relax, I'm not here to kill you just yet Rose, I'm just here to send you a message," the guy said as he lifted his hands in a surrender pose.

"What do you want?" I growled as I pressed my rod deeper into his neck.

"I'm just here to observe you, seeing as you had made so many new friends," he said with feigned interest.

"You know damn well that I know you're not here for that, so spit out what you're really here for," I said menacingly at him.

"Well, seeing as you're so eager to know more about me," he said as he reached inside his pocket, "relax, I'm only here to give you an invitation," he said as he pulled out a gold envelope.

"Take it Rose, you know you'll have to follow no matter how hard to try to deny it," he said as he chuckled and I snatched it out of his hand.

"Oh and by the way, you really ought to join that guild, it can be like a year ago all over again," he laughed as he disappeared into the shadows.

When the whole school day was over, I rushed to my dormitory and grabbed the envelope from my backpack. I looked at it, noticing it had an ancient rune inscription of the word: Tribute. I grabbed my letter opener, pricked my finger, and dabbed the blood on the inscription. The envelope immediately opened and a black holographic video came out.

There was a person, dressed in all black. Long black hair covered the person's face and was also covered by the shadows, and intertwined their own fingers together as if contemplating.

"Hello Rose, it has been a while, hasn't it? Well, I am here to tell you that I have missed you dearly," the person said, his voice sounding as cold as ice. As soon as I heard that distinct voice, the color drained from my face and I sat as still as a rock.

"Well, I'm assuming you're leaping for joy just knowing that I've missed you, so I wanted you to join me again for a little game. I hope you're ready for it," the person said as I clenched my jaw, "Maybe we'll start with killing that friend of yours. What was her name? Oh yes, Koyu Blink, the little Highlander."

"Please," I whispered, "Why are you doing this to me again?"

"Silly Rose," the person chided, "I told you it's because I missed you! Oh wait, it's because of a sweet little word called, Revenge," the mystery person said, and I saw that grin again after a year, razor-sharp teeth that were bright.

"Rose, there are only 2 options that I'll give you here, one: refuse to join Ourtale and have Koyu Blink killed. Or two: join Ourtale and your friend's life can be spared…at the moment," I looked down and started trembling.

"Now, which will you choose?"

I rushed out towards the Guild Building because I took no chance to wait for my teleportation device to charge. I ran up the staircase, not thinking of anything but running towards that door. When I finally reached 248, I slid open the doors with so much force, the glass shattered. Kaila looked up in surprise and said, "Whoa Rose! What brings you here?"

I panted and looked at her in the face, "I accept Ourtale as my guild."


	13. Chapter 12

When I woke up, I rolled to turn towards the desk. There, the gold envelope lay, along with the 6th pin I received: the guild pin. The Ourtale pin was beautiful, a purple shooting star with the sparkles coming out of it. I looked at it numbly, realizing the gravity of my situation. _I joined a guild even when I didn't want to_, I thought as I curled up into a ball, _now I've endangered everyone around me._

When I entered the 248, I saw Ace bound before me and say, "Hey Rose! I'm so glad you decided to join us!"

"Yeah…I decided it was time to join something," I said with a feigned smile.

He smiled with his youthful smile and I turned towards Kaila. I had a meeting with her since she was the Guild Master. She pointed towards a small office room, and she sat down in the chair, while I sat in another. She then gave me an application, and told me her standards and rules within the guild.

"I take it that you know that there are 3 different types of guilds?" she asked me as she was going over her rules, putting on her red spectacles.

"Yes, there are three types. First, there's Order, where they usually do nature and wildlife volunteer jobs. They rarely do anything that requires fighting unless necessary and in an emergency. Then there's Neutral, where they're flexible and will do anything as long as it's not requiring to kill anyone. And then, there's Chaos." Here I paused for a moment before starting again, "Fallen guilds that have strayed from their beliefs and do mercenary and assassin work."

"Good, then you also know the ranking within the guilds?" Kaila asked me as she flipped the paper.

"Yes, it starts from Apprentice and can go as high up to Vice master," I replied.

"Well, looks like we can skip these parts then," she grinned as she held up another packet.

"Now as for my rules, all I want you to do is to get yourself comfortable with this guild. Get to know others and you'll be fine in this guild. We tend to just do remedial jobs and volunteer work," she smiled as she stood up. I also took this chance to stand up too.

"But for now, there's nothing that we have to do. Of course, there is a Guild Board for Quests as long as you talk to either me or one of the Vices, then you just need to tell them which job you're taking, whether it's a D-Rank job or an S4 job."

"Yes ma'am," I said as started to fill out my application.

"Oh and one more thing," she said as she was heading out of the small office.

"What?"

"Don't call me ma'am, just Kaila is fine," she smiled as she turned and walked out of the office.

I looked at the application where the last part required was my signature. I hesitated, then finally signed it. I was officially part of Ourtale.


	14. Chapter 13

Days went by, and I started to get to know the people in my guild. As much as I tried to stay away and try not to socialize, people would approach me for help to do their quests and tutoring on their homework or subject they failed to understand.

The first thing I did when I was in the guild was to clear up the misunderstanding with Hanna Chan, the girl I almost killed. As I tried to apologize, she said, "For what?"

"Well, the first time when we were PvPing…" I said as I trailed off, there wasn't really an easy way to say that: _Hey! I'm sorry I almost killed you but no hard feelings, eh?_

"Yeah I thought you were super cool! It gave me the chills at first but I thought you'd be a reliable fighter if I did ever do party or team work with you," she said as she smiled at me.

I looked at her in surprise and asked, "So, you're NOT mad at me?"

"Nope! Like I said, it was totally awesome," she said as she was finishing her homework.

I smiled and felt relieved, my conscience feeling cleared.

"Hey Crazy, come over here for a second," my happiness immediately dropped as I heard the sound of Orzel Chopin's voice, the guy who called me Crazy.

I gave him a false smile as I purposely tripped and stepped on his foot.

"Ow! I swear you do that on purpose or something," he said as he lifted his foot and rubbed the sore spot.

"Me? How could I possibly fake tripping? I'm just clumsy," I said as I feigned innocence. Star looked at me and she gave me the thumbs up, and I gave it back to her. Star and I had this ongoing little game where we bothered Orzel as much as possible seeing how he got on both of our nerves. As soon as Star found out I was part of the guild a couple of days beforehand, she bounded before me and introduced me with a violent pat on the back. I still have that bruise from that time, and every time I see it, I laugh a little to myself before I change. When Koyu saw me on her guild list, she got excited and gave me a bag of homemade dumplings. As for Kaila, well, she just tries to flirt with me as much as possible in her free time.

When I was finished talking to Orzel, I looked around the room, and it truly was a beautifully designed room, everything was very modern and stylish. On the right side of the room, there was a table with 8 chairs, magically floating peacefully. The table was etched with the guild design, the mahogany wood beautifully lacquered. On the table, there were flowers blooming in a centerpiece, their little white petals dancing in the wind. There were also red roses and blue peonies, their little petals gently peeping out of their buds. Right above the table was a tapestry with the guild emblem on it, and the shooting star actually had sparkles magically coming out of it. The walls were pure white, making the room look calm and peaceful. There was also a picture of a pure white unicorn framed on the wall, its majestic eyes staring into the audience that was looking at the painting. Growing lilies were winding around the frame, giving it a more nature-friendly atmosphere. On the left side of the room, there were also brown bear leather lounging couches, about 5 surrounding a coffee table with the same insignia, forming a pentagon around the coffee table. The centerpiece was a bouquet of holographic shooting stars, their little sparks forming colorful sparks in the air as they fell. I admired the whole concept of the room, the design created a warm atmosphere that welcomed people in as they entered. In the center of the room, there was big space, so in the times when there was guild meetings, people would pull up chairs and discuss in the middle of the room.

The room was very admirable and beautiful, and it helped instill peace within myself. I looked at everything with the same heart-wrenching nostalgic feeling, and suddenly, fear elevated within me. Suddenly, questions starting pouring into my brain, as if a dam exploded and the river started pouring.

_Will I be able to help those in danger this time? _

_Will they be able to forgive me later for what happens? _

"Rose! Let's go to the dining hall" my thoughts became interrupted as I saw Hanna and Star waving at me, indicating their desire to leave and go eat.

"Ok!" I smiled and walked out, leaving my thoughts behind and attempting to start all over again.

_I will change fate this time. Nobody will get hurt; I'll make sure of it even if I have to die. _


	15. Chapter 14

"Rose? ROSEEEEEE!" Star started shaking me as she called my name.

"Eh? Eh?" I said as I focused my attention on her.

"You weren't paying attention!"

"Sorry, I guess I'm tired, was there anything you wanted to ask me?"

"Yeah! Which dormitory do you live in? I live in Restaurant Inn," she said as she was hopping on one foot and extending her arms out in order to balance.

"Oh I live in Elias Palace" I said as I started warming up my hands as the cold weather was starting to nip at my cheeks and nose.

Star stopped in her tracks and she turned and looked me in shock.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"YOU LIVE IN ELIAS PALACE?! That's where all the elites and nobles live!" She said in exclamation.

"Yeah Dr. Tonio put me in there for some reason." I said as I tried to laugh casually.

"Can I go inside your dorm one day please?!" She asked as she looked at me with pleading eyes," I want to see how rich people live!"

"Er, sure," I said in quick response to her inching to me closer and closer.

"Thanks! I'll come over on Saturday," she said as she grinned and waved at me. She and I parted ways as we both headed to our dormitories.

As I walked towards my dorm, I saw a girl skating towards me she looked like she wasn't in control and looked panicked and scared. I saw her and started to feel the same feeling as I attempted to catch her as she tripped over a rock and hurled over. She landed on me and I fell hard on the ground.

"Oof!" I said in surprise.

"Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She asked as she looked at me with concern. I rubbed my head as I squinted and looked up. I saw a girl with long, wavy platinum white hair tied into a ponytail, her fringe braided onto the side. Her eyes were violet and she had a cat-like demeanor. She stood up and extended her hand out to pull me up.

"Yeah I'm fine. Why are you even skating?"I replied as I reached for her hand and stood up.

"I got these as a gift from my dad," she said as she wobbled a little before fully standing straight.

"Erm, did you want me to escort you to your room? You look like you could use a little help."

She winced and said, "It's that bad, huh?"

I looked at her and nodded, and we both laughed.

"My room number is 103," she said.

I looked at her in surprise and said, "My room number is 105."

We looked at each other, paused, and finally said in unison, "You're my neighbor?!"

We talked as she held on to my arm for support as I helped her to her room. With the occasional misbalance and stumble, we finally reached her room. She turned to look at me and smiled.

"Thanks a lot again! It was nice meeting you," she smiled as she opened her door.

"No problem, and it was nice meeting you too," I smiled as I turned around to start heading to my room when I heard her say, "By the way, my name is Anna Shoes. I have a feeling we'll be good friends in no time," and I turned around and smiled at her. _I made another friend_, I thought to myself as I smiled and opened my door.


	16. Chapter 15

As the days were getting colder, our finals were starting to approach at a dreadfully fast pace. Students feverishly took notes and asked the teachers for help whenever they could. As for me, I chose to go to the Velfa library to study.

The library was located near the dormitories and set in a Victorian Era and it was beautifully decorated. There were books aligning the walls in the wooden shelves. The windows were huge, spanning from the top of the ceiling to about 30 centimeters off the floor. They also had green curtains; the thick velvety material looked and felt expensive. There were desks next to the curtains, and they had green marble lamps with a gold handle on them. There were desks that were big enough to accommodate up to 16 people or some that were just single desks. There was also a staircase in the middle of the room which led to the second floor, where there were more private rooms for group projects. The doors were closed shut with a "PRIVATE" sign which the only way to get inside was by getting your weapon scanned by a librarian in the reception desk for reservation. There were 2 librarians that manned the reception desk. One was Liz, girl with big red eyes. Her short hair fell on her youthful face gently as she wore the librarian uniform of a brown coat trimmed with navy blue. She wore a big navy blue bow-tie to compliment the whole outfit that had a red jewel that made her eye color stand out. Her red button-up shirt underneath her coat peeked gently as she was magically levitating books with ancient rune writing behind her. Although she had a youthful face, she was analytical and expressionless for the most part.

The other librarian on the other hand had a perkier aura surrounding her. Her long, disheveled hair waved dangerously around her face. Her big brown-rimmed circular glasses framed her face and her red eyes and she smiled constantly. She had the same bow-tie as Liz and the same jewel in the middle. She was wearing the same red shirt with a white shirt long sleeved collar shirt underneath it, the frill of the collar gently blooming around her neck. She also had a black band with rune writing etched in gold on her bicep, signifying her position as Head Librarian.

I went to the head librarian and asked, "May I reserve a room for 1?"

"Certainly! The Ceres Room is open at 4:00 P.M.-6:00 P.M. Would you like that one?"

"Yes please Madam Fel," I said as I gave her my rod for her to scan.

"No need to be formal, just Fel is fine," she smiled as she gave me back my rod, "You can enter the room now."

I nodded in thanks and started walking up the stairs. I found the Ceres Room and as I placed my rod underneath the scanner, the door opened for me. The room was beautifully sunny, the sunlight gently dancing in the floor with the same Victorian-like decorations. I sat in the desk and took out my notes and was about to start studying when all of a sudden, I felt the ground shake. It was too concentrated to be an earthquake so I went outside of the room to see what the ruckus was all about. When I turned to look towards my right, the crack underneath the door next to me had smoke coming out from it. I panicked and tried to open the door when Liz came to my aid, and she gently placed her finger on the vintage gold handle.

The door opened and all the smoke escaped, causing the fire alarm to shriek, but none of the students moved a muscle. They all just ignored the fire alarm shrieking and I was dumbfounded and lost for words. _Why aren't these people moving? There's a fire! _But as I turned towards the room, there was a coughing noise.

"Whoa! I guess I shouldn't mix granny roots and Xenadia potato extract together," the female voice said. I squinted to see who was behind that shroud of smoke.

"You should stop experimenting here, Master Fenek," Liz said calmly as the smoke finally cleared to reveal the culprit behind the annoying smoke alarm.

A girl was standing behind a desk filled with beakers and vials. There was a little fire with a beaker filled with neon green liquid bubbling. The girl's short white hair barely came past her chin as she looked down to stir her ingredients. As she looked up to see me next to Liz, I saw her whole face. She had big circular glasses that magnified her sapphire blue eyes; her long fringe fell over her glasses. She was wearing the academy uniform but had a white lab coat over it, stained with many different colors on them. She had a sneaky grin as she started mixing the liquids and I blurted, "Maybe that isn't such a great idea…"

She looked up to me and again observed me, arching one of her eyebrows slightly in amusement to my statement.

"What makes you think I'll stop my hobby?" She said as she started swishing the liquid around as it turned in a electric blue color.

As it turned into different colors, I became more intrigued and came cautiously closer to her and the mystery liquid.

"What did you add inside it? Hermitage beards?" I asked as I looked at the liquid.

"Oh, pretty impressive," she said as she smiled at me and started to explain to me all the things she added within the liquid.

When we finished talking, the sun had already set. I turned to look at the window, my watch, and then cursed at the time I had wasted on not studying. But I didn't regret it considering I met an interesting person.

"Fenek, huh?" I said as I smiled and grabbed my things and headed to my dormitory.


End file.
